Crude's Win Streak Kept Alive

Oil futures rose for an eighth consecutive session and jumped to their highest price in nearly four months as the showdown between Britain and Iran over 15 detained British soldiers continued to rattle the energy market.

The May contract for light sweet crude climbed $1.95 to $66.03 a barrel in active trading at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Reformulated gasoline finished 7 cents higher at $2.13 a gallon, and heating oil gained 4 cents to $1.87 a gallon.

Natural gas for May delivery rose 5 cents to finish at $7.61 per million British thermal unit. The April natural gas contract expired after the close of Wednesday's trading session.

Tensions between Britain and Iran escalated yet again when a representative for the British government said officials were working to convince the United Nations to get involved in the negotiations for the release of the soldiers.

Iran reacted by delaying its offer to free the only female service member in the group. While attending a meeting of the Arab League in Saudi Arabia, Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that Britain must admit that its soldiers had breached Iran's territorial waters in order to end the standoff.

Meanwhile, war games staged by the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier groups Eisenhower and Stennis in the Persian Gulf are wrapping up. The carrier group Nimitz has been ordered to sail from San Diego and replace the Eisenhower.